Ogden College News Agriculture

Empowering. Connecting. Serving.

OCTOBER 2014 NEWSLETTER INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Agriculture 6 Ogden College News AMS 11

WKU FARM HARVESTS FIRST INDUSTRIAL HEMP CROP Biology 10 Thursday, September 11th marked a big day for student volunteers and staff at WKU Chemistry 12 Farm. The first industrial hemp crop was harvested with volunteers cutting the hemp by hand. Computer Science 5

The crop is part of a joint effort with the University of Kentucky. Data will be collected Engineering 7 regarding fiber production and the nitrogen levels the hemp needs to grow well. This data will be compiled by staff at UK and sent to the Kentucky Department of Agricul- ture. Paul Woosley, WKU Agriculture Associate Professor, stated, “The data gathered Geography & Geology 8 at WKU will help to determine which seeds and fertilization rates are most successful with the type of soil common in the area.” Mathematics 5

This joint effort with UK is made possible by a special provision in the federal Agricultur- Physics & Astronomy 9 al Act of 2014 which allows state agriculture departments and institutions of higher learning to grow industrial hemp to study hemp growth and marketing. WKU is one Psychological Sciences 13 university of many deciding to take part in this research effort.

According to WKU Agronomy professor Todd Willian the hemp planted at the WKU Farm grew well even though planted during a period of drought due to a delay in seed delivery. Dr. Willian named uses of the plants ranging from making clothing and concrete to a material for bedding. Want To Support the Ogden

For the full article in the BG Daily News College Fund For Excellence? click here: Hemp Harvest. Please click below

Paul Woosley, associate professor in the Agriculture Department, talks to the volunteers about harvesting, bundling and weighing the hemp plants.

Pictured above are the 2014-15 Ogden College of Science & Engineering Student Ambassadors Left to right: Ryan White, Ellen Vice, Kyle Stewart, Tori Hampton, Tyler Smith, Elizabeth Oates Ogden College News, Cont.

WKU WELL REPRESENTED AT KENTUCKY INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONFERENCE IN LOUISVILLE Thirteen posters were presented by WKU faculty and students at the Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference in Louisville on September 5th. Twelve of the posters were presented by individuals from Ogden College. Several collaborative projects were on display along with a wide array of participation from departments all across campus such as Marketing, CIS, Sociology and Kinesiology, Recreation & Sport.

Presenter Department Poster Title

Keith Andrew Physics & Astronomy A Strength Characterized Nanofiber Modified Concrete Substrate

Keith Andrew Physics & Astronomy A Coupled ODE Meme Based GIS Model for an Ebola App from Data Mining Twitter

Ferhan Atici Math Parameter Estimations of Sigmoidal Models of Cancer

Jason Crandall Kinesiology, Recrea- Bingocize TM 3.0: A Unique Mobile Application for Improving Physical and Mental Fitness in Older Adults tion & Sport Vladmir Physics & Astronomy Energy Efficient Portable Unit for Real Time Monitoring of Environmental Hazards and Physiological Characteristics of Dobrokhotov First Responders

Ashely Duvall Agriculture Automated Estrous Detection in Cattle

Grace Egbujor Physics & Astronomy Surface Microstructure Evolution of Metallic Specimens Using the Large Chamber Scanning Electron Microscope

Paige Huzyak Chemistry Carbon-based Siloxane Nanoarrays for Power Generation from Waste Heat

Jerry D. Monroe Biology A Zebrafish Assay for Testing Ototoxicity of Platinum-Based Anti-Cancer Drugs

Matthew Nee Chemistry Real-time Monitoring of Photocatalytic Reactions

Eric Steinfelds Physics & Astronomy Single-Cell Power Generator with Multi-Decade Performance using Century-Scale Recyclable Materials

Bangbo Yan Chemistry Development of Novel Porous Materials for Mercury Removal

Leyla Zhuhadar Computer Information Semantically Enriched Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Platform Systems New Department Chair Appointments Dr. Greg Arbuckle (Department Chair, Architectural & Manufacturing Sciences) earned his BS degree in Mechanical Technology in 1996 from Indiana State University. He received his MS in Industrial Tech- nology from Eastern Illinois University in 1999. He then acquired his PhD in Technology Management in 2004 from Indiana State University. His interests are in quality assurance, robotics, automation and 2+2 program development.

Dr. James Gary (Department Chair, Computer Science) is originally from Lou- isville, KY. He earned a BA from Indiana University Bloomington as a double major in Physics and Mathematics. He then earned a MS in Computer Studies from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. After working as an instructor of Computer Science for three years at Winston Salem State University, he Dr. Greg Arbuckle returned to Kentucky to work as an instructor at the University of Kentucky in Lexington while he completed his PhD. He then worked for three years as an assistant professor of Com- puter Science at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma before coming to WKU in 1998. He plays the banjo and rides his Harley to work most days.

Dr. James Gary Article continued on page 3 2 Ogden College News, Cont.

New Department Chair Appointments (cont.)

Dr. Kelly Madole (Department Chair, Psychological Sciences) received her PhD in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992 and has been at WKU since 1999. She has authored or co-authored numerous articles, chapters, and conference presentations in the area of infant cognition, especially the early development of object categorization. More recently she has examined the development of social categorization in children and young adults. At WKU, she teaches courses in Developmental Psychology and Psychological Research Methods. She has previously served WKU as Interim Dean of Graduate Stud- ies and Research and as University Senate Chair. Kelly is married to Lance Hahn and she has two children who take up most of her spare time. In the very few minutes left, she enjoys cooking, reading, and speculating about the role of nature and nurture in BBC’s thriller “Orphan Black.” Dr. Kelly Madole

GIRL POWER! GIRLS EMBRACE SCIENCE AT SKyTeach EVENT

ver two hundred girls in grades 5 through 12 had the opportunity to explore O various topics in math, technology, engineering and science during exciting interactive sessions. SKyTeach and Ogden College sponsored “Girls In Science Day” at Snell Hall on Saturday, September 6th. Attendees met Ogden Dean Dr. Cheryl Stevens who spoke to them about having high expectations for themselves and setting strong goals. Students also met other women employed in STEM careers. A pizza lunch was provided and at the end of the day, participants viewed a spectacu- lar Chemistry magic show by Alicia Pesterfield (pictured below left). Photos above and below by To view a full article in the BG Daily News, click here: Girls Seek Science Bryan Lemon, WKU

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Congratulates our 2014 Staff Excellence Award Recipients

Administrative Support Winner Skilled/Technical/Paraprofessional Winner

Wendy DeCroix, Office Coordinator Jeremy Waddell, Manager, Dairy Herd

Geography & Geology Deparmtent WKU Farm

3 Ogden College News, Cont.

GREEN RIVER PRESERVE CELEBRATES SUMMER HAPPENINGS AT THE GRP 10th ANNIVERSARY by WKU News by Dr. Ouida Meier

The WKU Green River Preserve’s Mis- The preserve closed on a 16.6 acre tract addition, thanks to sion is to foster knowledge and pro- the WKU Research Foundation. This area is ideally suited for tection of the natural heritage of this a future research and education campus at the Preserve. The highly diverse region. The 1520 acre total size of the Preserve is now 1520 acres. site is located in Hart County and includes seven miles of river frontage. Summer brought several groups of prospective WKU stu- In ten years hundreds of endangered dents to the Preserve for excursions with canoeing to include mussels have been released, more the GEAR Up program with students from all over Kentucky, than 14,000 trees have been planted, A Jr. ROTC group from Allen-County Scottsville High School, wildlife and plants have been invento- and some other Friends of the Preserve. We hope to see all ried and numerous student research of these students as future Hilltoppers! projects have been conducted.

In addition Darlene Applegate, a WKU archaeologist, led stu- The Preserve marked its tenth anniversary with a celebration dents in her Archaeology Field Camp course in the careful on Saturday, September 27th. The event included remarks work of excavating and documenting the site where the from WKU President Gary Ransdell, Dr. Terry Wilson of bricks for the historic Gardner House at the Preserve were WKU’s Center for Environmental Education and Sustainabil- made over 200 years ago. The kiln allowed some of the ity, Sarah Craighead of Mammoth Cave National Park, Dr. bricks to be fired specially to produce a shiny black glazing Ritchie Kessler of the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation along one edge, and this was incorporated into the Flemish Fund Board and WKU students and faculty. Bond construction design of the house—a pinnacle of engineering for strength and aesthetics two centuries ago in Ken- tucky.

We were honored to host Kentucky Wounded Heroes and their families for two canoeing weekends in August. We thank them and their families for their willingness to serve and for what this service has cost them. The work of many friends of the Preserve, including Chuck Reed, Kerry and Cur- tis McDaniel, and volunteers from the Heart Co. Volunteer Fire Department, make it possible to host these families.

WKU President Gary Ransdell speaks to guests at the 10th anniversary celebration for the Green River Preserve. Photo by Bryan Lemon Plants and animals at the Green River Preserve are shifting from summer into autumn modes. We’re continuing long-

term research studies and conservation projects, have new As part of the celebration festivities, the historic Gardner graduate students and research projects starting, new classes House was open for tours. The house is over 200 years old of students visiting and doing field work, and new opportuni- and is being restored by WKU’s folk studies program. Visitors ties for K-12 teachers and students. It’s an exciting time, and could also participate in short hikes or canoe trips to tour the we’ll let you know more about all of it in coming days. area. Click here to view full article

4 Mathematics

The Mathematical Association of America, KY section, awarded Dr. Tom Richmond (pictured at left) its Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics in recognition of his ex- traordinarily successful teaching. Congratulations, Dr. Richmond!

The 34th Annual Mathematics Symposium will be held in Snell Hall October 10-11. Keynote Speakers are Professor Robert L. Devaney from Boston University and Professor Louis H. Kauffmann from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Events begin at 4:30 PM Friday and 8:00 AM on Saturday. For more details visit the following link: Math Symposium or call 270.745.3651.

Computer Science GATTON STUDENTS DEVELOPING GOOGLE GLASS APP

Gatton students Logan Houchens, Peter Kaminski and Lydia Buzzard, pictured below, are working on an app for WKU using Google Glass that will help college students decide where and what to eat. “This will be an aid for university students navi- gating college life,” said Buzzard.

Google Glass is a sophisticated piece of eyewear that provides a mini computer screen for the wearer.

The students had to first learn about computer programming through a special programming option just for Google Glass. Next, the students worked with WKU IT Division to collect information such as transit schedules and parking information, dining facility schedules, meal plan information, computer lab information, campus directions, WKU events and WKU News. The idea is to set up information retrieval for the Google Glass user that provides the facts within 4 seconds of a request.

The Google Glass user looks into the little screen on the right side of the glasses, then taps the side pieces to advance screens or ac- cess screen options. The same information can be pulled up on a smartphone, just not as quickly.

Uta Ziegler, professor of Computer Science at WKU, is mentoring the students.

Click here to view full article in BG Daily News. Photo by Clinton Lewis

5 Agriculture

ASSET CONFERENCE HOSTS TWENTY-SEVEN STUDENTS FROM FOUR STATES

WKU’s Department of Agriculture hosted 27 students at the ASSET WKU VINEYARD PRODUCING GREAT RESULTS (Agriculture Students Striving for Effective Tomorrows) Conference WKU Vineyard Manager Ryan Phelps along with undergraduate in June. The students came from student employees produced an excellent crop of grapes for Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Ten- the second consecutive year. Most of the wine grapes were nessee. The five day conference marketed to Crocker Family Winery of Franklin, KY, and the is designed for students who have seedless grapes were sold at farmer’s markets and at the WKU completed their junior year of Floral Shop. For the first time grape juices and jellies were produced from WKU grapes via an offsite commercial kitchen. high school and are interested in Grape jelly and purple grape juice made from Concord and attending college and studying Niagara varieties and a white grape juice made from the varie- Agriculture. ty Villard Blanc were also marketed. TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT NEWS The vineyards were again utilized to train students enrolled in the introductory Viticulture class in pruning and shoot thinning WKU played a role in this techniques. Additionally, the class assisted with planting the year’s PGA Championship newest vineyard comprised of 200 seedless varieties, including at Valhalla in Louisville, ‘Glenora’, and ‘Somerset’. Despite the dry weather, another KY. Luke Headley, Blake good yield is expected for the 2014 crop. Dewsnap, and Doug Dun- Three sections of the Summer Vineyard Operations course leavy worked at Valhalla were offered this year. This is a hands-on learning course all summer as interns. where students participate in a variety of activities such as Sean Konsavich and Paul canopy management and netting for bird management. Ryan Woosley joined these three students as volunteers during the is ably assisted this year by undergraduate assistants Andrew PGA tournament. Dr. Woosley spent most of his efforts clean- Wurth, Eva Ross, and Mitchell Lyons. ing out the water features (where he couldn’t mess up!) while The vineyards are located just south of the L.D. Brown Agricul- his students mowed greens, tees, and performed other more tural Exposition Center. Visitors are more than welcome! Call critical tasks. As usual, it wouldn’t be Valhalla if it didn’t rain. (270) 745-3151 or email [email protected] or The tournament winner, Rory McIlroy, did autograph a squee- [email protected] to schedule a visit! gee for the staff. What a great week and what an exciting tournament!

Students in CLARICE ESCH the Summer AWARDED FULBRIGHT Vineyard Operations Clarice Esch was awarded the Ful- course work- bright Scholarship to Costa Rica in ing at the August. In May, Clarice Esch and Dr. vineyard on WKU’s Farm Martin Stone travelled to Costa Rica on a grant. They taught local native producers how to graft tomatoes.

6 Engineering

cation of floodplain managers. This year, the award went to Dr. Warren Campbell, Hall Professor of Civil Engineering at

Western Kentucky University. Campbell, who serves on Certi- fication Board of Regents, promotes the CFM program in a university setting, and more than 50 of his students have passed the CFM exam. He teaches total immersion floodplain WKU OFFERS FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT DE- management that could take students to the depths of a cave GREE or the dry flats of the desert. He coordinates the only FPM minor in the US, and is currently developing a Bachelor’s de- Western Kentucky University now has the first U.S. 4-yr flood- gree with concentration in FPM, while serving as the Co-Chair plain management degree. The announcement was sent to of the Higher Education Committee. several in the floodplain management community and it made the main web page of the Association of State Flood- Dr. Campbell stated, “My goal since ar- plain Managers. With 15,000 members, this is the largest U.S. riving at WKU is to make Western syn- organization dedicated to FPM. Please click here to see their onymous with floodplain manage- web page. ment. With the creation of the 1st mi- nor in floodplain management in 2007

and the 1st 4-year degree in 2014, we DR. WARREN CAMPBELL WINS JOHN IVEY are making progress toward this goal.” CERTIFICATION AWARD

The John Ivey Certification Award, established in 2001, recog- nizes exceptional efforts to promote the professional certifi- Dr. Warren Campbell

7 Geography & Geology

Dr. Gani’s study will investigate the timing of major reservoir rock formation through documenting the incision of the plat- eau, which has direct importance for hydrocarbon reservoir

development. The timing of erosion is critical in understanding the probability of forming a reservoir basin as opposed to WKU group conducts water training in Jamaica forming an organic-rich rock development. The formation of Over the past several months, Dr. Jason Polk (pictured above) sediment, which is being studied in northeastern Africa, will led two training workshops in Jamaica in partnership with the help scientists unravel the development of the earth’s crust Jamaican Water Resource Authority and the International and help explain climate evolution of the region. Click here for Atomic Energy Agency. These workshops focused on capacity full WKU News article. building and groundwater science with regard to water resource tracing to aid the JWRA in developing methods and Josh Durkee Featured in BG Daily News sound scientific practices for conducting water investigations. Talk of the Town WKU staff and graduate students also participated in hosting Dr. Josh Durkee is an these workshops, gaining an international experience in water associate professor of resources research and outreach. Click here for full article. meteorology and cli-

mate science at WKU. WKU graduate student continues water literacy In addition to his class- project in Africa room courses, he has During July 2014, WKU Center for Water Resource Studies staff a field course in member and Department of Geography and Geology graduate weather analysis and student Jonathan (Joneo) Oglesby made his way back to Niger, forecasting in the Great Plains, where the class forecasts and West Africa, to contin- documents severe and often tornadic storms. Last August he ue his thesis research was featured in the BG Daily News Talk of The Town Segment. among the Songhai For full BG Daily News article, click here. people. This trip marked Oglesby’s fifth Dr. Aaron Celestian interviewed by the ACS to the region and focused on the use of Petroleum Research Fund eye-tracking in the Dr. Aaron Celestian was interviewed by the American Chemical evaluation of image- Society’s Petroleum Research Fund last spring pertaining to the driven water education, which utilizes cultural- and gender- work he is conducting for an ACS grant. Click here to see full appropriate images designed to foster visual storytelling. Click article in the Annual Report of the ACS PRF. here for full WKU News article. Dr. David Keeling visits London WKU faculty member receives grant to support re- University Distinguished Professor of Geography Dr. David Keeling visited London, England, last August to attend the an- search in East Africa nual meeting of the Royal Geographical Society and to partici- Dr. Nahid Gani has been awarded the prestigious and national- pate in the annual board meeting of editors of the Journal of ly competitive American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research Transport Geography. For WKU News article click here. Fund (ACS-PRF) Grant to support her research in East Africa.

8 Physics & Astronomy

NEWS AND NOTES

American Conference on Neu- tron Scattering (ACNS) in Knox- ville, TN on 6/1—6/5, 2014. Pictured at right are Eli Heintz- man, Dr. Sanju Gupta and Car- son Price.

HARDIN PLANETARIUM COLLABORATES WITH 44th Student REACH Week at CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE THIS SUMMER WKU. Pictured at left are Car- In July Hardin Planetarium collaborated with the WKU Confu- son Price, Dr. Sanju Gupta, cius Institute for a week-long, full-day summer camp, Mayme Van Meveren and Eli "Chinese Discoveries That Shaped Our World." This first-time Heintzman. Carson Price, Fresh- collaboration provided wonderful new experiences for every- man Physics Major, Honors College, one involved. Campers who attended this special edition of won the Poster Award. the Science Curiosity Investigation (SCI) Camp spent their The 2nd Nanosmat USA Conference at morning at Helm Library with staff from the Confucius Insti- Rice University, Smalley Institute in tute, and after lunch came up the hill to the planetarium for Houston, TX during 5/19—5/23, 2014. the afternoon activities. The grade 3– 6 students made their Pictured at right are Dr. Sanju Gupta, own paper at the planetarium, and with the Confucius Insti- Professor P. Ajayan and Sir Harry Kroto, tute they learned Chinese calligraphy to personalized this Professor and Nobel Laureate in Chem- paper. The templates for two different kites were decorated istry. Dr. Gupta delivered an invited at the Confucius Institute, then assembled and tested at the talk at the Conference. planetarium. Science, technology, music, and art were blend- ed throughout the week to bring the best of all the worlds to STUDENT DEVELOPS E-BOLA APP the campers. Armin Smailhodzic of Bowling Green began working on The

Ebola Project app as part of his master’s thesis in the Home- TC CHERRY VISITS WKU NOVA CENTER land Security program in WKU’s Department of Physics and Kindergarten students from T.C. Cherry Elementary School Astronomy. The smartphone app uses Twitter data to track visited the WKU Nova Center on September 10th. The future the outbreak of the Ebola virus and could predict the spread. scientists were very curious and asked lots of questions! “Surprisingly enough, we found there was a lot of information Dr. Ed Kintzel, Director, (pictured at being shared on Twitter,” said Smailhodzic, who received his left) spoke to the students. bachelor’s degree in physics from WKU in 2011. “People in the rural villages of West Africa may fear Western doctors, but people tweet.” said Dr. Keith Andrew, head of WKU’s Depart- ment of Physics and Astronomy and Smailhodzic’s faculty mentor.

Smailhodzic, a native of Bosnia who speaks five languages, learned a sixth language – Javascript – to develop the app. Click here for full WKU News article.

9 Biology

KBRIN funding allows WKU Biology Professors to offer Small Genome Discovery program across KY

The KBRIN-Small Genomes Program is designed to build on the experience that Drs. Rodney King and Claire Rinehart have gained as participants in the Howard Hughes Medical NOTEWORTHY NEWS Institute Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advanc- Courtney Broyles won 1st Place in ing Genomic and Evolutionary Science (HHMI SEA-PHAGES ) the Undergraduate Poster compe- program. KBRIN will provide financial support (over 5 years) tition at the 2014 Annual Meeting to replicate this innovative research-based educational mod- of the International Association of el across the state of Kentucky. King and Rinehart will train Food Protection, August 3-6 in In- faculty at outreach institutions across the state each sum- dianapolis, IN. The poster was mer. The goals are to use bacteriophage discovery, charac- titled “Thermal Inactivation of terization, and genomics as the basis for original research for Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and Non- undergraduate students as well as to contribute hundreds of 0157 Shiga Toxin Producing E. coli novel genomic sequences to published genomic databases. in Moisture Enhanced Non-intact Beefs As Affected by Internal Temperature, Moisture Enhanc- WKU professor participating in statewide ing Rate and Resting Time By Double Pan-Broiling.” Courtney NSF EPSCoR project is pictured above with her mentor, Dr. Cangliang Shen. WKU biology professor Sigrid Jacobshagen will use her ex- PUBLICATIONS pertise in plant physiology and biochemistry as part of a $24 The Collyer lab had one article published in the journal million research effort called “Powering the Kentucky Bioe- Heredity, “A method for analysis of phenotypic change for conomy for a Sustainable Future.” WKU’s portion of the phenotypes described by high-dimensional data.” This article award for Dr. Jacobshagen’s project is $264,058 over the involved research supported by an RCAP Award to Michael five-year period. Dr. Jacobshagen will address the improve- Collyer and an NSF REU experience for David Sekora (a ment of biomaterials by looking at lignin, a product found in Gatton student) in the summer of 2012 in the Collyer woody plants. Click here for the full WKU News article. lab. David Sekora is now at the University of Rochester, and a co-author on the article.

Drs. Kerrie McDaniel (right), The Collyer lab also had a manuscript accepted for publica- Michael Smith (below left) and tion in the journal Copeia, “Habitat-morphotype association grad student Jenni Dumaine of Pecos pupfish (Cyprinodon pecosensis), in isolated habitat (below right) talk to students at complexes.” This manuscript involved research supported by Potter Gray Elementary during an RCAP Award to Michael Collyer. The RCAP Award sup- their Science Day. Not pictured but attending were Drs. Nancy Rice, ported research experiences for two Gatton students, Me- Keith Phillips and Noah Ashley. ghan Hall and Melissa Smith, during 2012-2013, who are also co-authors on the manuscript. Meghan and Melissa are now undergraduate students at WKU.

The students pictured in the photo above left are the 2014-2015 WKU BIOAMBASSADORS. Front row: Cyrus Sadrinia, Taylor Billings, Storm Dutton Back row: Katelyn Dotson, Corbin LeMieux

10 Architectural & Manufacturing Sciences

Last May, five students and faculty Advisor Bryan Reaka (pictured above left) traveled to Durango, Colorado to assist the LaPlata County Habitat for Humanity Affiliate with fram- ing a home for a partner family there. Every May the Habitat for Humanity WKU Campus Chapter has taken a trip to a far WKU HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HARD AT WORK off location to experience the culture and the building methods in different parts of the US or the world. While in Duran-

go, the students and faculty had the opportunity to venture The WKU Chapter of Habitat for Humanity has several up- out and visit the Rockies. coming collegiate trips in the works.

For WKU’s Fall break, students are headed to West Liberty, MEMORIAL FOR 9/11 DEDICATED AT RVFD KY on a build trip. They are continuing to help families that On the 13th anniversary of 9/11 a memorial was dedicated were affected by the tornado of 2012. There are also stu- at the Richardsville, KY Volunteer Fire Department for the dents attending the Youth Leadership Conference in Novem- 343 fallen firefighters who lost their lives serving our fellow ber in Charlotte, North Carolina. There, they will be learning citizens that infamous day in New York. The memorial con- how to become a better leader and bringing back infor- tains a four foot section of a steel beam recovered from the mation from other collegiate chapters to help better the debris of that tragic morning. Richardsville fire chief, Joe WKU campus chapter. In December, several students are Harbin, worked for two years to obtain this relic from the NY heading outside of Houston, Texas on another build trip. Port Authority. It was the distinct privilege of the WKU Ar- There are also two upcoming trips in January over WKU’s chitecture Resource Center director Neal Downing, AIA and Winter Break. his students who collaborated to produce the design as well We are happy to report the bridge was successfully complet- as the construction documents for its realization. The up- ed at Durbin Estates subdivision in cooperation with Warren right column stands to remind us that out of that day’s dark- County Habitat for Humanity as well as the Office of Sustaina- ness, the light of the American spirit, exemplified by those bility at WKU. The bridge, pictured below, links the educa- 343 men and women, still shines. We will always remem- tional pond that has been built into the landscape with the ber. Click here for the full article in the BG Daily News. entrance walkway for the subdivision.

Chemistry

The scientific team of Stuart Williams from U of L, Gerold Will- ing from U of L, and Hemali Rathnayake from WKU will per- form unique fundamental physical investigations of colloidal interactions called “haloing effect” under microgravity and will work with ACE researchers from NASA Glenn Research Center.

NEWS AND NOTES Co-investigator, Dr. Rathnayake (pictured at Chemistry students presented at the 248th American Chemi- right), with the expertise in nanoparticle syn- cal Society National Meeting in San Francisco, CA. Pictured thesis will develop different dye functionalized above are Paige Huzyak (research mentor Hemali Rathnayke), nanoparticles and microparticles for the col- Celia Whelan (research mentor Kevin Williams), and Tulsi Modi loidal experiments in ISS. In parallel, Dr. Wil- (research mentor Raja Dakshinamurthy). liams (principal investigator) and Dr. Willing (co-investigator) will investigate electroki- All Chemistry Graduate students attended day long orientation netics and themodynamic behavior of these colloids. The first and gained hands on flight for their microgravity experiments in the ISS has already experience with several scheduled to launch in August 2015. pieces of safety equip- ment including fire extin- DR. MOON SOO KIM GIVES SEMINARS IN KOREA guishers by university Dr. Moon Soo Kim traveled to Korea this fire marshal Bob Austin summer and gave two seminars at universi- (at right). ties in Korea: Ewha Womans University in

Seoul, Korea and Kangwon National Universi- Dr. Donald Slocum is ty in Chuncheon, Korea. presenting a seminar titled “Expanding the Horizons of Aryl- lithium Chemistry” to the Department of Pharmaceutical These universities are PhD granting institu- Chemistry at the University of Kentucky in October. He is dis- tions with good medical schools. Ewha cussing potential pharmaceutical applications of his synthetic Womans University is highly ranked in Korea with advanced procedures. research activities and cutting edge research facilities in all bio -related areas (biology/chemistry/pharmacy/food sci- Thirty-two students, undergraduate and graduate, will present ence). Kangwon National University is highly ranked in veteri- posters or give talks at the Southeast Regional Meeting of the nary medicine. American Chemical Society in Nashville, TN this October. This is the largest regional meeting of the ACS and Dr. Stuart Burris Her talks were titled, “Engineering and application of DNA- will serve as General Chair. binding proteins for detection of food borne pathogens” and "Pathogen-specific DNA detection utilizing custom DNA- NASA EPSCOR GRANT FUNDED binding proteins." While in Korea, Dr. Kim also attended the conference for the The University of Louisville, WKU, and the University of Ken- Korean Society of Microbiology and Biotechnology. tucky received three-year support from NASA EPSCoR to con- duct NASA’s Advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE) in the Inter- national Space Station (ISS). This award has a $750,000 contri- bution from NASA with $300,000 additional matching funds from Kentucky EPSCoR.

12 Psychological Sciences

gram at Missouri University of Sci- ence and Technology in Rolla, MO. Dr. Shoenfelt presented an assessment that she and her graduate students conducted with Army ROTC cadets. They identified the expertise Professors Collaborating on a Unique Effort that is needed to earn an excellent Benefiting Older Adults rating in the Leader Development and Assessment Course, then devel- Bingocize is a unique program that seeks to maintain or im- oped and delivered a training pro- prove older adults’ health and function. Millions of people Dr. Betsy Shoenfelt gram to teach the cadets the interper- (especially older adults) play the game of Bingo, and it is wide- sonal and mental skills which lead to success. ly popular at places like assisted living homes, nursing homes, and other geriatric facilities. Drs. Matthew Shake (Psychological Sciences) and Jason Crandall (Kinesiology, Rec- Psych Sciences Now Offers J.U.M.P. reation and Sport) recently received two different grants from The Department of Psychological Sciences now offers a Joint the state of Kentucky’s Science and Engineering Foundation. Undergraduate-Masters Program (JUMP) for highly qualified The money (about $75,000) is being used over the next year to students. WKU is the only university in the state of Kentucky develop a digital “app” version of Bingocize which can then offering an accelerated program in the discipline easily be marketed to people all over the world via computers of psychology. In this five-year course of study, students and tablets. The effort is interdisciplinary and also includes Dr. will earn a Bachelor of Science in Psychological Sciences and Guangming Xing from Computer Science. a Master of Science in Psychology. Interested students apply to the program before they have completed 65 hours of un- Dr. Aaron Wichman Collecting Data For dergraduate credit. Please click here for more information.

Many Labs 2 Replication Project Dr. Lickenbrock Presents at Biennial International Dr. Aaron Wichman started data collection for Many Labs 2, a Conference on Infant Studies replication movement in social psychology that is forming the basis for similar movements in other fields. The Many Labs In July, Dr. Diane Lickenbrock and Psy- Replication Project is an international consortium of psycho- chology graduate student Victoria logical scientists addressing concerns about failures to repli- Greenwell presented, "Parent and infant cate classic findings in the field. The latest iteration of the affect synchrony during early infancy: A project includes more than 100 independent investigators longitudinal perspective” at the Biennial examining the replicability of findings and the size of effects International Conference on Infant Stud- that are both classic and novel. Many Labs 1 has received ies in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Lickenbrock widespread attention and was covered in Nature, Science, uses longitudinal designs and multiple National Geographic, and other secondary sources. Click here methods (e.g., experimenter-report, to view the final report. parent-report, physiological methods, observational coding, etc.) to examine the development of emotion and its regula- Dr. Shoenfelt Guest Speaker At Missouri University tion as well as individual differences in child temperament. of Science & Techonology Dr. Betsy Shoenfelt was an invited speaker for the grand open- ing of the Industrial-Organizational Psychology Graduate Pro-